Welcome

The Red Circle is Sherlock's home in Washington DC. Now in our seventh decade, we continue to celebrate his immortality and enjoy each other's company.
All are welcome to join us and share our interest in all things Sherlockian and Doylean.

Next Meeting

Friday, December 7, 2018
Hyatt Regency Bethesda
7400 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD
Drinks at 6:00 -- Dinner at 7:00
A Red Circle Holiday Party
An evening of fun, games, laughter
Come join the festivities

the details

Writings

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2018

November 17 Sherlock Holmes Takes the Case A great opportunity to introduce youngsters to the Great Detective. As part of its "Saturday Morning at the National" program, Washington's National Theatre will present the Traveling Lantern production of Sherlock Holmes Takes the Case, aimed at kids 4-10 years old. There are two performances, at 9:30 and 11:00 and tickets are free. You can order the free tickets online here beginning on November 9. Walk-ups will also be accommodated if seats are available. Grab all the youngsters you know and get them started on the road to Baker Street!
December 5 Sherlock Holmes in a Magnifying Glass Our Red Circle friend and Conan Doyle biographer Dan Stashower will once again headline a wonderful Sherlockian evening at the Smithsonian Institution. Along with Dan will be the versatile actor Scott Sedar, who will give us readings from the Canon. Ticket information is here.
December 5 Reservations due for the Red Circle's dinner and holiday party.
December 7 Red Circle dinner and holiday party.
December 25 Holmes & Watson is scheduled to open in theaters nationwide. The comedy stars Will Ferrell as Holmes, John C. Reilly as Watson, Hugh Laurie as Mycroft and Ralph Fiennes as Moriarty. Fasten your seat belts.

2019

January 9 - 13 Sherlock Holmes Birthday "Weekend" in New York. Details to come about this annual five-day "can't possibly go to everything" Sherlockian bacchanal.
May 3 - 5 Malice Domestic For the 31st time, our own regional confab for mystery lovers will again be an open book at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel. All are welcome, of course, and registration information is here.
May 5 -12 Sherlock's Veiled Secret Even Peter Blau has not yet seen this play by K.C. Brown, but he and many other Sherlockians will be in the audience at the Rockville Little Theatre. Ticket information is here.
May 31 - June 5 Dark Deeds in the Canon A half dozen pilgrims from the Red Circle attended 2017's Alpine adventure sponsored by the Reichenbach Irregulars of Switzerland. They're heading for the hills again, and the upcoming jaunt promises to be just as much fun. Marcus Geisser advises that the event is essentially sold out. However, if you decide you'd like to attend, look at the detailed description of the program here. Then send an e-mail to Marcus to see if he can squeeze you in. Do this before making any hotel reservations.
June 21 Joint meeting of the Red Circle and the Sublibrarians (Sherlockian librarians scion) during the annual meeting of the American Library Association, at a time and venue in the DC area to be announced. Watch this space.
August 9 -11 Dark Places, Wicked Companions, Strange Experiences. That's the theme of the Norwegian Explorers' triennial conference in Minneapolis, one of the most eagerly anticipated Sherlockian get-togethers. The Red Circle is always well-represented, so mark your calendar now and send an e-mail to Julie McKuras to keep up-to-date on details.

For a much more comprehensive list of Sherlockian meetings and events around the United States and beyond, see Ron Fish's

Sherlockian Calendar.

Sherlockian Gifts for the Season It's a sure sign that the holidays are nigh when Randall Stock gives us his always-welcomed "best of" lists. In addition to being a reliable place to find worthwhile Sherlockian gifts, Randall's choices are remarkable reminders of the variety of items that pay tribute to Sherlock Holmes. See Randall's lists here.

Politics Watch: “My favorite line” Always alert to mark the confluence of politics and Sherlock Holmes, The Red Circle notes the statement made to Fox News by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) concerning the disappearance of Washington Post columnist and US permanent resident Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Turkey. Said Graham, “You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes (my favorite line) to figure this out.”

The Dancing Men (and Women) The Ohio State marching band did a halftime tribute to the popular dance known as "flossing," but Sherlockians know that there's a deep message here! Watch.

And, in a Red Circle exclusive, we have the score for the performance, possibly in the key of E

The Red Circle welcomed Monica Schmidt to our luncheon on September 8. Monica is both a Sherlockian and a mental health counselor, and her presentation on Sherockian hoarding was very well received, as reported in Carla Coupe's Meeting Notes. Read them here. In addition, Monica has kindly provided a text version of her talk which you can read here and in the Writings section. Both are highly recommended.

Holmes & Watson As noted in our calender on the right, our favorite duo will be back for the holidays this year when Holmes & Watson opens wide on December 25. You can watch the trailer below.

Curious Incidents at the Reference Desk One of the joys of living in the Washington area is knowing that one of our local libraries is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill. The Library of Congress has all sorts of resources, including a well-staffed reference desk, where for more than 30 years you could find Red Circle member Thomas Mann, who like all good Sherlockians seemed to know just where all the bodies were buried. Now retired, Tom has found time to write Doc at the Reference Desk (Washington: Alexandrina Press, 2017; 77 pp., $7.00). This collection of fictional but revealing "small stories in a large library" gives us an idea of some of the strange things that can happen at a reference desk. It’s non-Sherlockian (but obviously written by a fellow traveler), and great fun for all those who like real libraries.

Happy Days Are Here Again! Because the Red Circle calls our nation’s capital home, we’ve always tried to keep tabs on the intersections of politics and Sherlock Holmes. Your webmaster’s son Matt is a Sherlockian and a member of the Red Circle, having attended a number of meetings in the 1990s and one in 2014. On August 12 Matt launched his candidacy for State Assemblyman in New York’s 99^th Assembly District, covering a number of towns along the west side of the Hudson, including West Point. That’s Matt in the center of the photo. Peter Blau believes this is the first time a Red Circle member has run for office. His parents are very proud, and hope you'll check out Matt’s website here and his facebook page here.

It was in 2011 that Maureen Bottrell, a forensic geologist in the trace evidence unit of the FBI laboratory, brought us some down-to-earth information. If Sherlock Holmes was a practical but limited geologist, the Red Circle learned just how much the boundaries have expanded since his day. To cap off her talk, Maureen revealed the secrets to getting away with murder. This information, coming as it did directly from the FBI, is still talked about in Red Circle circles, and is carefully documented in the meeting notes of the evening. Read all about it here.

Scuttlebutt: One Fixed Point in a Changing Age Our own Peter Blau's monthly Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press has endured for some 47 years, and has a permanent home right here on our website. It's the most remarkable collection of Sherlockian news and notes anywhere, and your webmaster recommends a monthly visit. The very latest edition is available now, as are past numbers. It's just a click away--use the "Scuttlebutt" button at the top of the page.

Be an Inner Circle Contributor We welcome submissions from all quarters for this page. Please direct materials to the webmaster, alan@redcircledc.org
For earlier, archived items from The Inner Circle, click here.